Post-Discharge Follow-Up Phone Call by a Pharmacist and Impact on Patient Care

Summary

The purpose is to analyze whether a follow-up telephone call by a pharmacist after patient
discharge from the hospital can improve patient outcomes.

Patients will be interviewed via telephone within 72 hours of being discharged home from the
hospital. Patients will be questioned on three main topics. They are:

1. Medical care

2. Medications

3. Follow-up appointments

The purpose is to find out if people understand discharge medications, have obtained those
medications, are having any problems with their medications and have scheduled necessary
follow-up appointments. It will be determined if a telephone call by a pharmacist will
prevent patients from needing to go to the Emergency Room or being admitted back to the
hospital.

Description

There is a time between hospital discharge and patient follow-up that has been deemed by
many healthcare workers as a "black hole " (1). It is a time during which continuity of care
is of utmost importance, yet there is no effective uniform system in place to ensure this
vital continuity. During the post-discharge period (time from when the patient leaves the
hospital to the time of first follow-up appointment), new medical problems can arise and old
ones can be exacerbated. Additionally, patients can encounter innumerable barriers to
healthcare, including difficulty obtaining medications and securing appointments with
physicians or specialists. Also, patients may not have received proper counseling on new
discharge medications, including proper use and potential side effects. Despite this
important aspect of patient care, only a paucity of literature on the topic exists. Of the
literature that does exist, it suggests that patient education concerning discharge planning
and the post-discharge period is an aspect of care that is in great need of improvement and
an excellent opportunity for intervention by a pharmacist.

This led to our research hypothesis, can a follow-up phone call from a pharmacist improve
patient outcomes?

The primary endpoint of this study is a reduction in the number of hospital readmissions
(any cause) during the 30-day post-discharge period. Thirty-day readmission rates will be
compared to see if there is a difference between the intervention group (follow-up phone
call) and control group (no phone call). The secondary outcomes include the number of
patients in the study group for whom medication errors, complications or misuse could be
identified.

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Background Psychiatry inpatients frequently have co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, which are related to poor post-discharge outcomes. Telephone monitoring is effective in special...

Background Pharmacist-administered vaccination services have been available in various countries for several years. In 2014, Western Australian (WA) legislation was introduced to allow pharmacist immu...

Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions

Call Centers

A facility set up for the purpose of handling large volumes of telephone calls. Call Centers typically utilize some form of computer automation for receiving, dispatching, screening, logging and forwarding telephone calls.

Cellular Phone

Analog or digital communications device in which the user has a wireless connection from a telephone to a nearby transmitter. It is termed cellular because the service area is divided into multiple "cells." As the user moves from one cell area to another, the call is transferred to the local transmitter.

Cell Phone

Analog or digital communications device in which the user has a wireless connection from a telephone to a nearby transmitter. It is termed cellular because the service area is divided into multiple "cells." As the user moves from one cell area to another, the call is transferred to the local transmitter.

Cell Phones

Analog or digital communications device in which the user has a wireless connection from a telephone to a nearby transmitter. It is termed cellular because the service area is divided into multiple "cells." As the user moves from one cell area to another, the call is transferred to the local transmitter.

Ethics, Pharmacy

The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the pharmacist, relations with patients and fellow practitioners, as well as actions of the pharmacist in health care and interpersonal relations with patient families. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

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